Flash-light igniter



G. A. LEY.

FLASH LIGHT IGNITER.

APPLICATION FILED Nov. 2, 1917.

1,332,048. K Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

G. A. LEY.

FLASH LIGHT IGNITER.

APPLICATION FILED N'ov. 2,. 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- gnou/Ito@ Patented Feb. 24, 1920.

To (indi/:7mm 'it may concern.'

"unir-E1n sauras PATENT union: l

GEORGE' ALBERT LEY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS'.

. FLASH-LIGHT IGNITER.

junction with cameras.

.lts principal object is to provide a device of this kind which may be connected with the shutter operating mechanism of a` camera so that flashlight powder may be ig'- nited and the camera shutter operated simultaneously with the ignition of the powder. j

A further obj ect of' the invention is to provide a flash panhaving a spring operated iamnier mounted en itsouter face, the inner 'face of the pan being provided' with van anvil adapted to receive a cap against whichV the hammer may impact to ignite powder contained in the pan. The hammer is held normally away from the cap and to be released by a trip member which is actuated bythe shutter operating bulb. A further obj ect of the invention is to provide meansconnected with the device whereby it mayv be appropriately attached to .a convenient support.

A still further object is to provide ahousing on the back of the flash pan for inclosing the hammer and its attendant operating mechanism, the anvil and cap support being on the inside'of the pan and the wall of the latter having formed therein an appropriate aperture through which the -hammer may project to impact on the cap.

A still 'further object of the invention is to provide an adjusting device connected with the hammer trip,so that the latter may be regulated for simultaneous operation with the camera shutter. j f

A still further object is to provide' means for locking the hammer away from the anvil,

' so that it may not be inadvertently operated.

A still further object is to provide a device of this kind which'issimplein construction,

durable and eectivein operation and inexpensive to manufacture.

Still further and othery objects are made apparent as the detail description lof the device progresses.

-The drawings illustrate and the specification describes'a particular embodimentof Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 24,1920.

Application fledovemher 2,51917. Serial o. 199,942.

the invention, but to this embodiment the invention is not to be restricted. Continued practica-l use may make manifest certain desirable changes oralterations and the right is claimed to make any such changes or alterations, in so far as they may be compre'- hend'ed. in spirit by the subjoined claims.

The same numerals of reference designate the same parts throughout the several iig-V ures of the drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the improved flash pan and ignition apparatus.

Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the invention, the housing for the hammer and its attendant parts being shown in section.

'F ig. 3 is a section on the line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 isa section on the line 4.--1v of Fig. 5 is a detail elevation of the anvil and cap support.

Fig. 6l is a plan view of the structure of Fig. 5, the'wall of the flash pan being shown in section. Y

Fig. 7 is a perspective Yview of the sup*- `porting member for the hammer.

is shown as comprising' the flash pan A and the ignition mechanism B. The flash pan comprises a quadran'gular plate 1 which is adaptedV to stand normally vertical and which is provided at'the bottom edgewith a right angularlypdisposed web 2 which terminates in flange 3 turned up into a plane parallel with the plate 1, the web, the flange and the plate constituting a channel adapted to receive flash light powder. Substantially at its longitudinal center and` at` a specified distanceqfrom the web2', the plate 1 isproL vided with an aperture 4 and on the inne-r VlJ-shap'ed member 5v which carries ananvil 6 face' ofthe plate there is suitably attached a A iixed in the holes 23 of the ears 22, the transable means.

medially disposed between its legs and positioned concentric withthe aperture 4.Y Between this anvil 6 and the adjacent wall of the plate 1, the ignition cap 7 is designed to be held, the cap being inserted between the plate and the anvil and being held in place 10 is carried, this upper endbeing provided' with a stud 11 which is rigidly secured in the hammer and which is j ournaled in holes 12 formed in the ears 9. rEhe hammer is provided with a. poll 13 in registration with the aperture 4 in the plate 1, this poll passing into and out oli the vaperture on the movement of the hammer lon its pivotal connection with the support 8. AThe hammer'lO is provided with a projecting end 14 which extends below the plane of the web 2 of the flash pan and it is further provided with aV transverse pin 15 positionedin the vicinity of the poll.

Tolhold the poll 1,3 away from the anvil 6, there is provided a trip member comprising two plates 16 which are interconnected neareither end by pins 17 and 18, the two pins being rigidly Vattached in the lplates and holding them appropriately spaced, so that the trip member may be placed in surrounding relation to the hammer just above the pollA 13 thereof. The pin 18 is of suicient length to extend laterally from the outside of either plate 16 and these lateral extensions are journaled in `holes 19 formed neai' the upper end ofears 20 vwhich are integral parts of the supports 21 appropriately secured to the plate 1' by rivetsor any other suitable means. The supportsf21 are positioned one on either side of the hammer 10, so that they may hold the trip member in the surrounding relation to the hammer previously referred to. j f j The supports 21 are further provided with outwardly projecting ears 22 which lie ina plane at right angles Vto the planes oi the ears 20. Each ear 22 is provided with a hole 23 in `vwhich there is fixed the end of one leg 24 of the U-shaped spring 25. The

Ll-shaped spring 25 is `formed with coils 26 medially positioned in its legs whose free ends 24 are turned back on those portions of i the legs which connect with the transverse portion of the spring. The springbeing attached by having the free en ds of its legs 24 verse portion of the spring engages the ham- .of the flange 47 to the web.

mer on that side opposite the poll 13, the

spring thus tending to torce the poll into contact with the anvil.

Each of the plates 16 is provided with a notch 27 and these two notches are engaged by the transverse pin 15 of the hammer to hold the hammer poll 13 away from the an- Vvil against the pressure of the U-shaped spring 25.

To provide means Jjornioving the trip out of engagement with the hammer, a triplever 28 is provided, lthis lever being pivotally connected to the plate 1 on one side of the hammer by means of an appropriate bolt 29.l The trip lever passes underneath the hammer and terminates in a portion 30k which is' contacted with by the free end ot the air piston 31, the latter being slidably mounted in a small air pump 32 which is appropriately attached to the plate 1 by means of appropriate rivets which pass through the ears 33 formed onopposite sides of the pump. The end of theV pump is provided lwith a nipple 34 arranged for the convt-inent attachinent'ofvthe hose whose other end connects with a bulb 36.

A T 37 isinterposed in the hose 35 and to this T a hose 38is attached which is designed to'connect with the shutter ope lating mechanism of a camera. i

`The trip lever .'28 is provided with a link 39 which ispivotally connected at one end to the lever 28 and at the other end to the pin 17 of the trip, the pivotal connections at the two ends of the link being arranged for movement in .planes at right angles to each engages an eye 42 formed at 'one end of an adjusting screw 43. j

`"Ilieharniner and all its attendant mechanisin are appropriately inclosed within a housing 44 which is provided with a llange 46 through which bolts pass.- 'lhe latteralso pass through the plate 1 and elfect the attachment Vof the housing to the plate. rthe bottom portion of the housing extends below the web 2 thus providing a tlangef47l through which bolts 48 pass and effect the attachment the housingIV 44 Yis. Vprovided with suitable openings through which the extension 14 of the hammer, the lower end of the adjusting screw 43 and the nipple 34 may pass. i The adjusting screw 43 is ilatted longitudinally The bottom of on one side and the hole in the housing iblthrough which the screw passes is of a contour conforming to the cross-sectional outline of the screw as definedV by the flat formed thereon. The screw 43 is thus precluded from angular movement but exterior to the housing it receives a knurled nut i9, which abuts the bottom of the housing lland whose turning Operates to increase or relieve the tension on the spring LO., depending on whether the screw is turned left handedly I or right handedly.

On the bottom ofthe housing -141 and positioned adjacentthe extension 1-.1 of

lthe hammer, there is a lreeper or lock whose one end is p-ivotally attached to the flange 7^ and whose other en d eff;- tending beyond the outer wall of .the housing is upturned and then turned back on itselhthus providing a hand piece 51 by Y means of 'which the keeper may be moved on vlar movement of' the keeper.

its pivotal connection. This pivotal movement of the keeper, however, is not great, its arc of movement being limited by the hand piece 51 whose either side engages the outer face of the housing after a prescribed an gu- The hand piece 51 is of less width than the main portion of the keeper, thus providinga shoulder 52 on top of which the extension 1i of the hammer may enga e, the engagement of the extension with t is shoulder precluding movement of the hammer, irrespective of whether the tripis opera-tedv or not.-

'A hook member 53 is appropriately attached to the housing L14 adjacent the top,

this hook member providing means for suitably supporting the device as a whole on the tripod of the camera or on some other stand adjacent thereto. y

In the operation of the device, the hose 3S is attached tothe shutter operating mechanism of a camera with which it is desired to take a flash light picture. The invention is then attached to an appropriate support by means of its hook member 53 and flash light powder is deposited in the channel formed by the web 2, the flange 3 and the plate 1. The cap for igniting the flashlight powder is inserted between the anvil 6 and the plate 1 where it is frictionally held in place. The poll 13 of the hammer is held away from the cap by the engagement of the pin 15 with the notches 27 of the trip, there being a tendency on the part of the trip to effect this engagement because of the force exerted by the spring 4:0 on the trip lever 23 whose link 39 engages the pin 17 of the trip. W'hen the hose 35 is attached to the nip-ple 34, the device is then in condition for use. Pressure exerted on ythe bulb 36V serves to drive air through the hose 38 and through the hose as well, the air in the-former operating the shutter mechanism of the camera andthe air in the latter forcing the piston 31 upward and raising the free end `of the lever against the pressure of' the spring 10. This raising of the free end of the lever Q8 operates to raise that end of the trip carrying the pin 17, thus withdrawing the notches-27 from engagement with the. pin 15, whereupon the spring' 25 opera-tes to drive/the hammertoward the plate 1, the poll V13 'of the han'nner passing through the apertures -t and impacting on the cap, thus exploding the latter and causingit to ignite the'fiash j light powder contained in the flash pan.

The nut 49 is provided for the purpose of so regulating the tension ofthe spring 40 that thetrip lever 2S will be assured of withdrawing the trip at the time of the operation of the shutter. Thus the ignition apparatus may be always adjusted to operate simul-l taneously with the shutter operating mechanism of any camera. with `which the invention -is used.'V w

To insure against inadvertent operation of the ignition apparatus, lthe keeper Olis provided. This keeper may be thrown into or out of'Y engagement with the hammer. When the extension 14 'of the hammer rests upon the shoulder 52 of the keeper, the hammer is prevented from effecting the ignition ofany flash light powder'that may' be "cous v tained in the flash pan even though thetrip lever may be operated, and there be a cap on the anvil.

Tt will be observed that the device, having once been operated, may be restored to its normal setl position by simply moving the hammer by means of that portion of its eX- tension 111 which protrudes from the housing 44. When the hammer is withdrawn away from the anvil after having once been 'impacted with the latter',` the spring 40 -operates to returnv the lever 28 to its normal position and in so doing effects the engagement of the notches 27 of the trip with the pin 15 of the hammer. Thus the simple movement of the hammer by hand to withdraw the poll from the anvil, serves to reset the whole mechanism with the exception of providino a new cap and new powder for a second flash light.`

By reason of the hammer 10, when set, being supported on both sides by the trip, thetrip is'released by a much lighter pressure on the `bulb than would be necessary if the trip supported the hammer on one side only. Y

The invention having been described, what is claimed as new and useful is:

l. The combination with a flash pan hav- .ing a receptacle forvflashlight powder, of a cap supporting means mounted on thepan adjacent the said receptacle, a hammer pivotally mounted on the opposite face of the flash pan, the hammer being formed with a poll, the flash panformed with an aperture Y Y througlr which the said poll may reach the cap-supporting means, a pin inserted transversely through the hammer, an-open trip surrounding the hammer and having notches for engagement `with said pm, means for springingly supporting the trip on the flash` pan, resilient means tending to force the 2. lThe combination with arflash panhav-f ing a receptacle for flashlight powder, of' meansf-or supporting an ignition cap therefor, a hammer pivotall57 mounted on the flash pan on the side opposite said means, 'the flash pan having` an aperture through which the said hammer may reach said means, a transversely disposed pin carried bythe hammer, an open trip surrounding the hammer and formed with notches for engagement with said pin, means for pivotally supporting said trip on the flash pan, a trip lever pivotally mounted on the flash pan, a link connection between said lever and said trip, and means for moving the lever on its pivotaloonneetion to swing the trip to disengage its notches from the aforesaid pin for the useful purpose specified.

Ythe hammer and formed with notches for engagement with said pin, means for pivotally supporting said trip on the flash pan, a Vtrip lever pivotally mounted on the flash pan, a link connection between said lever and said trip, a spring tensioned between the lever and the flash pan whereby the notches on the trip are kept in engagementwith the said pin, a'spring tendingto force the hammer toward the cap-supporting meansv and means for shifting the lever on its pivotal connectionagainst the tension of its spring, whereby the notches of' the tripare withdrawn from the pin ofthe hammer for the useful purpose specified.

p v GEORGE ALBERT LEY.

VJitnesses: i l

MARIS SABOTH, J. Lnwis.y 

